MDT boss

Ed Toavs is the new Missoula District Administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation. Born and raised in Columbia Falls, Toavs worked in his father’s automotive repair shop and helped on the family farm. After graduating from Columbia Falls High School, Toavs earned a civil engineering degree at the University of Idaho and went to work with MDT in May 1994. After eight years in the Kalispell office, he served as the operations engineer in Great Falls for six years before transferring to the Missoula office.

Open house

The Bad Rock Volunteer Fire Department will hold an open house to celebrate their new fire hall at 23 Columbia Pines, off Highway 206, on Saturday, June 30, from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call Joe Testa at 756-0636 or 610-864-2211.

Free meals

The Columbia Falls Community Kitchen will offer free meals in the basement of St. Richard’s Catholic Church, in Columbia Falls, on Thursday through Saturday, June 27-30, beginning at 6 p.m.

Concert series

The Lions Club summer concert series continues this week with Left Over Biscuits. Concerts take place on Thursdays at Marantette Park in Columbia Falls starting at 7:30 p.m.

Bird talk

West Glacier photographer Tom Ulrich will present a talk on “Red Necked Grebes and Hoary Marmots” at Montana House, in Glacier National Park’s Apgar Village on Friday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m. Ulrich has been a freelance photographer since 1975. His photographs have appeared in National Wildlife, Audubon and National Geographic. He is also the author of seven nature books and the recipient of many prestigious awards. He has led tours to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, East Africa and Pantanal, Brazil.

Water workshop

The Flathead Lakers will offer a free “Living by Water Workshop” and “Volunteer Boat Inspection Training” at the Rollins School House, on Rollins Lakeshore Drive, just south of Highway 93 mile marker 89, on Saturday, June 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Enrollment is limited. For more information, call Christi Buffington at 406-883-1341.

DREAM

water sports

DREAM Adaptive Recreation Inc. will offer their annual Water Sports Day Camp for children and adults with disabilities at Echo Lake in Bigfork on Tuesday through Thursday, July 24-26, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The nonprofit’s camp will offer adaptive water-skiing, tubing, wake-boarding, boat rides and kayaking. Training dates for volunteers will take place July 10 at Flathead Valley Community College and July 23 at Echo Lake. To volunteer or to participate, call 862-1817. For more information, visit online at www.dreamadaptive.org.